Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion. Variants of the Royal Arms are used by other members of the Royal Family; and by the British Government in connection with the administration and government of the country. In Scotland, the Queen has a separate version of the Royal Arms, a variant of which is used by the Scottish Executive.

Contents 1 Features 2 Scotland 3 Uses 4 History 5 Other variants 5.1 Royal Family 5.2 Government 6 Blazon 7 External links

[edit] Features

The shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the three lions passant guardant of England; in the second, the rampant lion and double tressure fleury-counter-fleury of Scotland; and in the third, a harp for Ireland.

The crest is a lion statant guardant wearing the imperial crown, itself on another representation of that crown.

The dexter supporter is a likewise crowned lion, symbolizing England; the sinister, a unicorn, symbolising Scotland. According to legend a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast; therefore the British heraldic unicorn is chained.

The coat features both the motto of British monarchs Dieu et mon droit (God and my right) and the motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense (Shamed be he who thinks ill of it) on a representation of the Garter behind the shield.

The official heraldic description of the Royal Arms is as follows:

Quarterly, first and fourth Gules three lions passant gardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure (for England), second quarter Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland), third quarter Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), the whole surrounded by the Garter; for a Crest, upon the Royal helm the imperial crown Proper, thereon a lion statant gardant Or imperially crowned Proper; for Supporters, dexter a lion rampant gardant Or crowned as the Crest, sinister a unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Proper, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or. Motto 'Dieu et mon Droit' in the compartment below the shield, with the Union rose, shamrock and thistle engrafted on the same stem.

[edit] Scotland

The Queen has a separate version of her arms for use in Scotland, which gives the Scottish elements of her arms pride of place.

The shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the lion rampant and double tressure fleury-counter-fleury of Scotland; in the second, the three lions passant guardant of England; and in the third, the harp of Ireland.

The crest is a red lion sitting on a crown, holding a sword and a sceptre. This was the crest used in the Royal Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland. A motto also appears above the crest which is taken from the battle cry 'In My Defens God Me Defend', abbreviated to 'In Defens'.

The supporters change sides, and both are crowned. The dexter supporter is a crowned and chained unicorn, symbolising Scotland. The sinister supporter is a crowned lion, symbolising England. Between each supporter and the shield is a lance displaying the flag of their respective Kingdom.

The coat features both the motto Nemo me impune lacessit (No-one wounds (touches) me with impunity) and the insignia of the Order of the Thistle around the shield.

[edit] Uses

The Royal Arms as shown above can only be used by the Queen. They also appear in court rooms, recognising the monarch as the font of justice in the UK. Judges are officially servants of the crown, demonstrated by them bowing to the Queen's Coat of Arms which sits behind the judge on the wall of every court in the land, with the exception of the magistrates court in the City of London, in which a sword stands vertically behind the judge which is flanked by the arms of the City and the Crown.

The British Government also uses the Royal Coat of Arms as a National symbol of the United Kingdom, and, in that capacity, the Coat of Arms can be seen on several Government Documents and forms, passports, in the entrance to embassies and consulates, etc. However, when used by the Government and not by the Sovereign herself, the coat of arms is usually represented without the helm.

The Queen also awards Royal Warrants to various businesses that supply the Royal Household. This allows the business to display the Royal Arms on their packaging and stationery.

A banner of the arms, the Royal Standard is flown from the Royal Palaces when the Queen is in residence; and from public buildings only when the Queen is present. At Buckingham Palace, the Queen's main residence, the Royal Standard is flown when she is there. When she is not, the Union Flag is flown instead.

[edit] History

The current Royal Arms are a combination of the arms of the Kingdoms that make up the United Kingdom, and can be traced back to the first arms of the Kings of England and Scotland. Various alterations occurred over the years as the arms of other realms acquired or claimed by the Kings were added to the Royal Arms. The table below tracks the changes in the Royal Arms from the original arms of King Henry II of England, and King William I of Scotland.

Kingdom of England Kingdom of Scotland Arms Dates Details ~1133 The first known arms of an English monarch, a golden lion rampant on a red field was first used by King Henry II 1198 - 1340 The arms of King Richard I "The Lionheart", three golden lions on a red field was first used in 1198 before his accession to the throne. He later adopted them as his Royal Arms, as did his successors and they became the heraldic representation of the Kingdom of England. 1340 - 1406 King Edward III quartered the Royal Arms of England with the ancient arms of France, the fleurs-de-lis on a blue field, to signal his claim to the French throne. 1406 - 1603 King Henry IV updated the French arms to the modern version, three fleurs-de-lis on a blue field. Arms Dates Details 12th century - 1603 A red lion rampant on a yellow field within a double tressure flory counter-flory, first used by King William I, and later by his successors, and becoming the heraldic representation of Scotland. United Kingdom of Great Britain (1603-1801) Arms Dates Details 1603 - 1689 King James VI of Scotland inherits the English and Irish thrones in 1603 (Union of the Crowns), and quarters the Royal Arms of England with those of Scotland. For the first time, the Royal Coat of Arms of Ireland is added to represent the Kingdom of Ireland 1689 - 1702 King James II of Great Britain is deposed and replaced with his daughter Mary and her husband, William, Prince of Orange ruling jointly as William III and Mary II of Great Britain. An escutcheon of Nassau (the royal house to which William belonged) was added (a golden lion rampant on a blue field). 1702 - 1707 Queen Anne inherits the throne upon the death of King William III, and the Royal Arms return the 1603 version 1707 - 1714 The Acts of Union 1707 created the Anglo-Scottish Parliament of Great Britain. The Royal Arms of England and Scotland are impaled and moved to the first and fourth quarters, France second quarter and Ireland third quarter. 1714 - 1801 The Elector of Hanover inherits the throne following the death of Queen Anne under the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701, becoming King George I. The fourth quarter of the arms is changed to reflect the new King's domains in Hanover (Brunswick-Lüneburg-Westphalia, surmounted by Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire for the Holy Roman office of Archbannerbearer/Archtreasurer). United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1927) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1927 - ) 1801 - 1837 The Act of Union 1801 unites the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland. King George III drops the ancient claim to the French throne. The Royal Arms change with England now occuping the first and fourth quarters, Scotland the second, Ireland the third. For the Electorate of Hanover, there is an inescutcheon surmounted by the electoral bonnet. This is replaced in 1816 by a Royal Crown when Hanover was declared a Kingdom. 1837 - present The accession of Queen Victoria ends the personal union between the UK and Hanover, as Salic law prevents a woman ascending the Hanoverian throne. The escutcheon of Hanover is removed, and the Royal Arms remains the same. Note that there is no attempt to alter the Royal Arms to reflect later titles acquired by the British monarch such as Emperor of India, or when the dominions become Commonwealth Realms in their own right. Nor do the Royal Arms incorporate any element for Wales, since this was a Principality following the English conquest and not a Kingdom. However, the Prince of Wales places arms for Wales at the centre of his personal arms (see below).

[edit] Other variants

[edit] Royal Family

Members of the British Royal Family receive their own personalised arms which are based on the Royal Arms. Only children and grandchildren in the male line of the monarch are entitled to receive their own arms in this fashion. The arms of children of the monarch are differentiated by a three point label; grandchildren of the monarch are differentiated by a five point label. An exception is made for the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, who received a three point label. Since 1911, the arms of the Prince of Wales also has an inescutcheon of the ancient arms of the Principality of Wales.

Queen consorts and the wives of sons of the monarch also receive their own personalised coat of arms. Typically this will be the arms of their husband impaled with their own personal arms or those of their father. However, the consorts of a Queen regnant are not entitled to use the Royal Arms. Thus Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh uses his own personalised arms (See [1])

Currently the following members of the Royal Family have their own arms based on the Royal Arms:

Children and grandchildren of the monarch in the male line
Arms	Royal	Details
	The Prince of Wales	Plain three-point label, and inescutcheon of the Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales
	Prince William of Wales	Three-point label with a red escallop, alluding to the arms of his mother, Lady Diana Spencer
	Prince Harry of Wales	Five-point label with three red escallops in alternate points
	Prince Andrew, Duke of York	Three-point label, the centre point bearing a blue anchor
<no image>	Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex	Three-point label, the centre point bearing a Tudor rose
	Anne, Princess Royal	Three-point label, the points bearing a red cross, a red heart and a red cross
<no image>	Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a red cross, the second and fourth points bearing a red lion
<no image>	Prince Edward, Duke of Kent	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a blue anchor, the second and fourth points bearing a red cross
	Prince Michael of Kent	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a red cross, the second and fourth points bearing a blue anchor.
	Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a red heart, the second and fourth points bearing a blue anchor.
Consorts
	Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall	The arms of the Prince of Wales impaled with those of her father, Major Bruce Shand
	Sophie, Countess of Wessex	The arms of the Earl of Wessex impaled with her own personal arms

[edit] Government

The British Government uses a version of the Royal Arms but without the helm or crest, while in Scotland, the Scottish Executive uses the Scottish version, again without the helm or crest. In both arms, the crown sits directly on the shield

The Arms feature on

• All Acts of Parliament;
• The cover of all UK passports; and
• As an inescutcheon on the Diplomatic flags for a British Ambassador

It is also used by the following government departments

• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
• HM Treasury;
• The shield of the Royal Arms with the motto of the Order of the Garter is used by the Home Office; and
• The shield of the Royal Arms is used by the Royal Mint.

[edit] Blazon

This table breaks down the official blazons to enable comparison of the differences between the general coat and the coat used in Scotland.

	Everywhere except Scotland	Scotland
Quarterly I & IV	Gules three lions passant gardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure	Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules
II	Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules	Gules three lions passant gardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure
III	Azure a harp Or stringed Argent	Azure a harp Or stringed Argent
Surrounded by	The Garter (with the words Honi soit qui mal y pense)	The Collar of the Order of the Thistle
Crest	Upon the Royal helm the imperial crown Proper, thereon a lion statant gardant Or imperially crowned Proper	Upon the imperial crown Proper a lion sejant affronté Gules imperially crowned Or holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper
Supporters	Dexter a lion rampant gardant Or crowned as the Crest, sinister a unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Proper, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or	Dexter a unicorn Argent Royally crowned armed, crined and unguled Proper, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or holding the standard of St Andrew; sinister a lion rampant gardant Or Royally crowned holding the standard of St George
Motto	Dieu et mon Droit	Nemo me impune lacessit
War-cry		In Defens

The Irish royal crest On a torse azure and or, a castle triple-towered of the second, from the portal thereof a hart springing argent attired and hooved or is rarely if ever seen on the arms of the United Kingdom, as unlike the Act of Union 1707 with Scotland, the Act of Union 1800 with Ireland did not provide for a separate Irish version of the royal arms.

There is also no representation for Wales in the Royal Arms, as Wales was never a separate kingdom. However the dragon was used as a supporter on the Royal Arms by the Tudor Kings and Queens, reflecting that dynasty's Welsh origins.

[edit] External links

• Royal.gov.uk- Coat of Arms
• Number 10 Downing Street- Royal Coat of Arms
• Heraldica.org- The Royal Arms of Great Britain